{{Short description|Canadian surgeon (1951–2024)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Robin McLeod | honorific_suffix = {{Postnom|OC}} | image = Robin McLeod.jpeg | birth_date = {{birth date|1951|08|24}} | birth_place = Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|02|06|1951|08|24}} | death_place = | alma_mater = University of Alberta; University of Toronto | known_for = Studies on colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and evidence-based medicine | children = 2 }}
'''Robin McLeod''' {{Postnom|OC}} (August 24, 1951 – February 6, 2024) was a Canadian surgeon and medical researcher known for her contributions to clinical epidemiology, health services research, and evidence-based surgery. She played an important role in transforming surgical education, patient care, and medical research in Canada. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Dr. Robin McLeod |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-98064 |access-date=February 24, 2024 |website=The Governor General of Canada |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=February 21, 2024 |title=Pioneering surgeon Dr. Robin McLeod championed evidence-based medicine |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-pioneering-surgeon-dr-robin-mcleod-championed-evidence-based-medicine/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref>
== Early life == Robin McLeod was born on August 24, 1951, in Spruce Grove, Alberta, to Doug and Frances McLeod.<ref name=":0" /> She obtained her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Alberta. <ref name=":2" /> Encouraged by her uncle, Trevor Sandy, a general surgeon in Vancouver, she pursued a medical degree and graduated in 1975, at a time when few women entered the field.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == McLeod started her surgical career with a residency at the University of Toronto and also had stints at McMaster University and the Cleveland Clinic.<ref name=":2" />
McLeod joined the University of Toronto in 1986, where she became a professor of surgery, training residents in general and colorectal surgery. McLeod's works on evidence-based medicine and clinical trials resulted in studies that significantly impacted surgical practices, particularly in colorectal surgery and inflammatory bowel disease.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Surgical Spotlight :: SPRING-SUMMER 2017 :: Robin McLeod Is Moving Best Practices Model to All Divisions |url=http://www.surgicalspotlight.ca/Article.aspx?ver=Spring-Summer_2017&f=BestPractices |access-date=February 24, 2024 |website=www.surgicalspotlight.ca |language=en}}</ref> As an advocate for evidence-based medicine, she made a case for post-operative patients to get back on their feet and move after surgery as against then prevailing guidance which had encouraged patients to stay in bed; moving right away was found to improve recovery times.<ref name=":0" /> Some of the other practices that she had advocated included pre-operative patients being asked to exercise and quit smoking, and surgeons being asked to keep patients warm and avoid catheters and tubes to the extent possible.<ref name=":0" />
McLeod served as the president of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, and the American Surgical Association. She also served as the vice president for Clinical Programs & Quality Initiatives at Cancer Care Ontario.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Robin McLeod, Cancer Care Ontario: Profile and Biography |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/19523016 |access-date=February 24, 2024 |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> McLeod started ''Evidence Based Reviews in Surgery'', a journal study group for North American surgeons.<ref name=":0" />
In 1997, McLeod won the James IV Association of Surgeons Canadian Travelling Fellowship.<ref>{{cite web |title=Travelling Fellowships Canada |website=James IV Association of Surgeons |url=https://jamesivassociationsurgeons.com/group-pages/canada/travelling-fellowships-canada |access-date=25 May 2026}}</ref> In 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, in recognition of her influence on medical practice, knowledge translation, and surgical education.<ref name=":1" />
== Personal life == In 1981, McLeod married John Fauquier, and together they had two daughters.<ref name=":0" />
McLeod died on February 6, 2024, at the age of 72.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Amaral |first=Ciara Kilbride |date=February 14, 2024 |title=In Memoriam: Dr. Robin McLeod |url=https://ihpme.utoronto.ca/2024/02/in-memoriam-dr-robin-mcleod/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |website=Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |language=en-US}}</ref> She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease three years earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swadden |first=Patrick |date=September 15, 2023 |title=Toronto woman completing 10 triathlons in 10 provinces after mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/race-for-steph-alzheimers-disease-research-1.6965737 |work=CBC.ca}}</ref> Her daughter had run ten triathlons across Canada to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and in support of her mother.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mercer |first=Rebecca |date=February 12, 2024 |title=Remembering Dr. Robin McLeod |url=https://cc-arcc.ca/remembering-dr-robin-mcleod/ |access-date=February 24, 2024 |website=Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{SoundCloud|cjs-podcast/robin-mcleod-on-ebrs-a-career-in-surgery}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Robin}} Category:1951 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Category:University of Alberta alumni Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Category:Canadian surgeons Category:Canadian epidemiologists Category:Canadian cancer researchers Category:People from Spruce Grove Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:American Surgical Association members Category:Women medical researchers Category:Women cancer researchers